Microstrip Line Discontinuities Simulation at Microwave Frequencies

Microwave and Millimeter wave integrated circuits (MICs) have experienced a tremendous growth over the last 50 years. Microstrip line is one of the popular lines in these MICs. Due to the layout necessities, an electromagnetic wave that propagates down a microstrip line may encounter discontinuities such as T-junctions, Bends and vias. A simulation model is presented here for analysing these discontinuities in microstrips through Sonnet Software. The parameters of microstrip lines are determined from the empirical formulae which are based on full wave analysis. The simulation work has been performed on Alumina substrate. The discontinuities are simulated and compensated which gives important results for designing high frequency microwave circuits. Key Words: Microwave and millimeter wave integrated circuits (MICs), microstrip line, microstrip line discontinuities, T-junctions, bends, steps in width, full wave analysis, substrate permittivity and sonnet software

Antineoplastic potential of the Vitex species: An overview

Irrespective of progressive treatments, cancer remains to have the utmost rate of treatment failure due to numerous reasons associated. In recent years, the use of traditional medicine in cancer research has established considerable interest. Natural products represent an amazing source for cancer therapy and combating associated side-effects. More than thousand plants have been found to possess significant anticancer properties. Vitex is the largest genus in the family Lamiaceae which comprises 250 species distributed throughout world and several species have been reported to have anticancer properties. Despite a long tradition of use of some species, the genus has not been explored properly in terms of its anticancer profile. Here we are reporting the updated knowledge of the antineoplastic profile of this genus available so far. In the concluding part, the future scope of Vitex species has been emphasized with a view to explore its multifarious antineoplastic activities and mode of action

Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits ofArtemisiaSpecies

Artemisia L. is a genus of small herbs and shrubs found in northern temperate regions. It belongs to the important family Asteraceae, one of the most numerous plant groupings, which comprises about 1000 genera and over 20000 species. Artemisia has a broad spectrum of bioactivity, owing to the presence of several active ingredients or secondary metabolites, which work through various modes of action. It has widespread pharmacological activities and has been used as traditional medicine since ancient times as an anthelmintic, antispasmodic, antirheumatic, and antibacterial agent and for the treatment of malaria, hepatitis, cancer, inflammation, and menstrual-related disorders. This review comprises the updated information about the ethnomedical uses and health benefits of various Artemisia spp. and general information about bioactive compounds and free radicals

Role of the dietary phytochemical curcumin in targeting cancer cell signalling pathways

The diarylheptanoid curcumin [(1E,6E)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)hepta-1,6-diene-3,5-dione] is one of the phenolic pigments responsible for the yellow colour of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). This phytochemical has gained a lot of attention in recent years due to its therapeutic potential in cancer. A range of drug delivery approaches have been developed to optimise the pharmacokinetic profile of curcumin and ensure that it reaches its target sites. Curcumin exhibits numerous biological effects, including anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, antidiabetic, and anti-aging activity. It has also been extensively studied for its role as a cancer chemopreventive and anti-cancer agent. This review focusses on the role of curcumin in targeting the cell signalling pathways involved in cancer, particularly via modulation of growth factors, transcription factors, kinases and other enzymes, pro-inflammatory cytokines, pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins. It is hoped that this study will help future work on the potential of curcumin to combat cancer

Synergistic drug combinations from electronic health records and gene expression.

ObjectiveUsing electronic health records (EHRs) and biomolecular data, we sought to discover drug pairs with synergistic repurposing potential. EHRs provide real-world treatment and outcome patterns, while complementary biomolecular data, including disease-specific gene expression and drug-protein interactions, provide mechanistic understanding.MethodWe applied Group Lasso INTERaction NETwork (glinternet), an overlap group lasso penalty on a logistic regression model, with pairwise interactions to identify variables and interacting drug pairs associated with reduced 5-year mortality using EHRs of 9945 breast cancer patients. We identified differentially expressed genes from 14 case-control human breast cancer gene expression datasets and integrated them with drug-protein networks. Drugs in the network were scored according to their association with breast cancer individually or in pairs. Lastly, we determined whether synergistic drug pairs found in the EHRs were enriched among synergistic drug pairs from gene-expression data using a method similar to gene set enrichment analysis.ResultsFrom EHRs, we discovered 3 drug-class pairs associated with lower mortality: anti-inflammatories and hormone antagonists, anti-inflammatories and lipid modifiers, and lipid modifiers and obstructive airway drugs. The first 2 pairs were also enriched among pairs discovered using gene expression data and are supported by molecular interactions in drug-protein networks and preclinical and epidemiologic evidence.ConclusionsThis is a proof-of-concept study demonstrating that a combination of complementary data sources, such as EHRs and gene expression, can corroborate discoveries and provide mechanistic insight into drug synergism for repurposing

Comparative evaluation of polyphenol contents and antioxidant activities between ethanol extracts of Vitex negundo and Vitex trifolia L. leaves by different methods

The in vitro antioxidant potential assay between ethanolic extracts of two species from the genus Vitex (Vitex negundo L. and Vitex trifolia L.) belonging to the Lamiaceae family were evaluated. The antioxidant properties of different extracts prepared from both plant species were evaluated by different methods. DPPH scavenging, nitric oxide scavenging, and β-carotene-linoleic acid and ferrous ion chelation methods were applied. The antioxidant activities of these two species were compared to standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), ascorbic acid, and Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA). Both species of Vitex showed significant antioxidant activity in all of the tested methods. As compared to V. trifolia L. (60.87–89.99%; 40.0–226.7 μg/mL), V. negundo has been found to hold higher antioxidant activity (62.6–94.22%; IC50 = 23.5–208.3 μg/mL) in all assays. In accordance with antioxidant activity, total polyphenol contents in V. negundo possessed greater phenolic (89.71 mg GAE/g dry weight of extract) and flavonoid content (63.11 mg QE/g dry weight of extract) as compared to that of V. trifolia (77.20 mg GAE/g and 57.41 mg QE/g dry weight of extract respectively). Our study revealed the significant correlation between the antioxidant activity and total phenolic and flavonoid contents of both plant species

Hippocampal Automatic Recognition and 3D Segmentation Based on Active Appearance Model in Brain MR Images for Early Diagnosis ofAlzheimer's Disease

目的:研究磁共振(MAgnETIC rESOnAnCE,Mr)脑图像中海马的自动分割方法及海马的形态学分析方法,为阿尔茨海默病(AlzHEIMEr'S dISEASE,Ad)的早期诊断提供依据。方法:对20例Ad患者和60名正常对照者行MrI T1 WI 3d容积扫描,建立海马的三维主动表观模型,并以此模型对每个个体脑部磁共振图像上的海马进行自动识别和三维分割,分别建立正常对照组和Ad组的海马统计形状模型,比较Ad组与正常对照组间海马形状的差异性。结果:海马三维分割方法与手动分割方法在海马体积测量上无统计学差别(P>0.05);Ad患者海马头部发生萎缩(P0.05).Hippocampal head atrophy was found in AD patients(P<0.05).Conclusions: Hippocampal three-dimensional segmentation and automatic identification method based on active appearance model in brain MR image is accurate and reliable;the feature of hippocampal head atrophy can be used as a basis for diagnosis of AD.哈尔滨医科大学研究生创新基金(HCXB2010019);国家自然科学基金(81071219

Project SOAR: Fostering Leadership, Resiliency, and Network for Students at Pitt-Johnstown

Project SOAR will work with the Academic and Student Affairs Offices, Admission and Financial Aid Offices, local high schools, and local organizations to engage with students from Pitt-Success programs as well as marginalized women students in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. Project SOAR will offer these students an enrichment program that creates a safe environment encompassing peers and faculty mentors. Students will strengthen their leadership skills via professionals that train them and build a solid foundation for their future career paths. This will foster a sense of community service to these students, with the expectation that they will help other students like them on campus and in neighboring high schools